Fellowship of the Clover
 | |
|---|---|
| Deity | Greenleaf, God of Luck |
| Domains | Charm, Liberation, Luck, Protection, Travel |
| Races | Any (Humans) |
| Classes | Any (Clerics) |
| Alignments | Any (Neutral) |
| Holy Days | All |
| Place of Worship | Wherever Luck is needed |
| Holy Symbol | Four-leaf Clover |
| High Priest | Abbot Astor |
| Major Temple | The Raven and The Clover (Teufeldorf) |
The Fellowship of the Clover is a most interesting religious organization. The founder of the Order, Tobias Greenleaf, was not a religious hobbit, nor did he intend to start a church. Rather, he was a gambler who started several successful businesses and enjoyed preternatural good luck. His fellowship, at first a loose collection of eclectic friends, established a small shrine at Greenleaf's shop - The Raven and The Clover - in 499 TA selling small clover charms for good fortune.
Today, the Fellowship of the Clover is known throughout the Reaches. Wealthy patrons seek the shop - which still has Greenleaf's original overstuff leather chair and a live raven on the premises - just for the chance to purchase a charm. Traveling priests of the Fellowship can be found selling charms and performing blessing ceremonies throughout the Reaches.
Clerics interested in joining the order can contact the current Abbot Astor at The Raven and The Clover in Teufeldorf.
Legend of Greenleaf
Little is known of Tobias Greenleaf's early years in the fifth century TA. Hobbit lore tells of one Tobias Greenleaf being born in the countryside near the Sarsaparilla Cliffs and later a young hobbit of the same name selling four-leaf clover charms in the town of Okehill in that same timeframe. These facts are, however, unproven and tenuous at best. What is known is that a young hobbit named Tobias Greenleaf came to Teufeldorf and took a clerk's position at Barrow & White, Accountancy on May 19, 419 TA. Company records show that young "Toby" was well-loved by the staff and management, although prone to wildness, gambling and drink. It was noted as "odd" that Toby had a pet raven named "Lucky" - a childhood companion - that rarely left his side.
On October 13, 419 TA, the company records show that Tobias was stricken from the company records. Rumor holds that he had been invited into a game of cards when a senior director unexpectedly fell ill. Tobias is said to have won not some of the hands, but all of the hands - before being accused of cheating and thrown out of an upstairs office window. He landed uninjured in the hay-filled wagon of one Roger Whitby, a young man seeking to establish a trading house at the docks. A moment later, the raven Lucky lit on the wagon. In its talons was Toby's purse - the young hobbit had landed flush with gold! Toby eagerly joined Whitby in his venture.
At an auction the next week, Toby and Roger were overlooking a number of crates of exotic cloth recently unloaded from a merchant ship. With enough money to buy only one small crate, Toby sensed that a large non-descript crate filled with plain white cloth would be "lucky". Able to talk the merchant into parting with the large crate for a reduced price, Toby and Roger discovered a false bottom in the crate filled with gold-spun clerical cloth - a treasure worth a fortune. The establishment of Whitby & Greenleaf, Traders was formed, although Toby would leave the next year - bored by the monotony of trade and commerce. The company survives and prospers to this day.
Now well established, Toby - or as he was known in the gambling clubs "the kid" for his diminutive size - began the luckiest streak of cards, dice and tiles imaginable. Whenever the halls were raided by the tax collectors or bandits, Toby was away. Disgruntled gamblers seeking revenge for losses to "the kid" could never find him at the table, poisoned drinks were accidentally spilled - even a thrown dagger was intercepted by an innocent bystander when Toby accidentally tripped coming back from the bar. As his legend grew, Toby began to frequent the gambling halls less often.
Finally, in his elder years, Toby set up a small shop, The Raven and The Clover, selling gold four-leaf clover charms, tobacco, and coffee. The shop was wildly profitable, of course, but its main purpose was to provide a place for Toby's companions - and by now he had a small following - to sit, smoke, drink and talk. His companions called themselves the Fellowship of the Clover - comprised of an eclectic group of humans, dwarves and hobbits. The raven Lucky was the fellowship's mascot. Upon his death in 499 TA, the shop was converted into a small temple. It is said that Toby passed on the secret to making his tokens to his best friend, a human cleric named Dirathan who assumed the title of Abbot of the Fellowship. That secret, closely held, is still in use today, and the name "Toby" is often invoked before the dice are rolled or the cards dealt.